MineArchive

Clandown Colliery

LocationClandown, near Radstock, Somerset — 51.3062, -2.4590 (approximate)
CommodityCoal
TypeCoal
WorkedSinking began around 1801; a difficult crossing of a north-south fault at 720 feet forced work to be abandoned in November 1809 before it resumed in 1810, finally striking coal on 18 November 1810 at 1,200 feet.–Closed in November 1929, with little modernisation having been carried out.
Maximum depth1,437 feet -- the greatest depth reached in the Somerset coalfield up to that time.
OperatorsTrustees of the late C. Hollwey (?–1917), John Henry Iles (1917–1924), Sir Frank Beauchamp (1924–1929)
Status Researched

Overview

The oldest colliery in the Somerset coalfield, whose sinking through a major geological fault produced the deepest shaft in the county, worked from 1810 to 1929 and struck twice by fatal accidents attributed to unsafe working practice.

History

Clandown Colliery, the oldest in the Somerset coalfield, began sinking around 1801, but the shaft struck a north-south fault at a depth of 720 feet that made the ground appear to hold no coal at all; work was abandoned in November 1809. The owners raised fresh capital and resumed sinking in 1810, finally striking coal on 18 November that year at a depth of 1,200 feet. Pursuing the seam past the fault eventually took the shaft to 1,437 feet, the greatest depth reached in Somerset up to that time, from which 60 to 100 tons of coal a day could be raised. The colliery proved profitable, its coal valued at over £12,000 in the year to September 1821 and annual output reaching 13,850 tons by 1846; coal was carried out via an incline tramway to the Somerset Coal Canal at Radstock and onward by the Somerset and Dorset railway. By 1894 the pit employed around 177 people, working the Great, Top Little, Middle, Sliving and Bottom Little veins under the ownership of the trustees of the late C. Hollwey. Two working practices proved fatal on separate occasions: on 27 November 1868, colliers William Carter, 30, and David Millard, 20, were fatally injured in a gunpowder explosion, dying on 10 and 14 December respectively -- an official finding recorded plainly that 'they were not justified in using the powder in coal; it was supplied to them to blast top with.' On 5 February 1877, colliers John Gregory, 45, and John Padfield, 19, were both killed in a single fall of roof. Ownership passed to John Henry Iles as sole proprietor in March 1917, and then, in December 1924, to Sir Frank Beauchamp -- who by then also owned the already-published Parkfield Colliery near Bristol, through his separate East Bristol Collieries Ltd. With little modernisation carried out, Clandown finally closed in November 1929. A Wheelers Breeze Block factory occupied the site from 1946, and in 1968 workers there uncovered the old winding shaft lying dangerously close to the surface.

Workings

Worked the Great, Top Little, Middle, Sliving and Bottom Little veins from a shaft eventually reaching 1,437 feet, raising 60-100 tons of coal a day at its most productive.

Closure

Closed in November 1929, with little modernisation having been carried out over its working life.

What remains

The site was occupied by a Wheelers Breeze Block factory from 1946; in 1968 workers there uncovered the old winding shaft lying dangerously close to the surface.

Abandoned workings can be dangerous — unstable ground, uncapped shafts, flooding and bad air are common even where a site looks safe from the surface. This entry describes history and general location only; it is not an access guide.

Disasters & major incidents

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

Sources

  1. (secondary) Clandown (Somer Valley Audio Trails) — Somer Valley Audio Trails
  2. (secondary) Clandown Colliery (Durham Mining Museum) — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 31 August 2026 · Last researched: 31 August 2026